"batailles et idées futuristes": 17 letters from f. t. marinetti, 1912-13

"Batailles et idées futuristes": 17 Letters from F. T. Marinetti, 1912-13Author(s): Ton van Kalmthout and F. T. MarinettiSource: Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Vol. 21, No. 3 (1992), pp. 139-161Published by: Stichting voor Nederlandse Kunsthistorische PublicatiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3780747 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 11:52

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Stichting voor Nederlandse Kunsthistorische Publicaties is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve andextend access to Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.21 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 11:52:52 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=svnk

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3780747?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


'39

"Batailles et idees futuristes": 17 letters from F. T. Marinetti, I9I2-I3*

Ton van Kalmthout

PRELUDE From 5 to 24 February 1912, the Paris art gallery Bernheim-Jeune et Cie. held its famous Exposi- tion des peintresfuturistes italiens, the first of several exhibitions to introduce Italian Futurism outside its land of origin. The accompanying catalogue contained reproductions of eight of the 35 works exhibited, as well as a programmatic explication in two parts of the underlying ideas: the introduction, "Les exposants au public," and the "Manifeste des peintres futuristes" that preceded it, composed in April i9io. The latter was as usual dated the i ith, this being the lucky number of Futurism's spiritual father, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (i876- 1944; fig.i). Both articles were signed by the painters Umberto Boccioni (i882-19i6), Carlo D. Carra (i88i- I966), Luigi Russolo (i885-1947), Giacomo Balla (6871-I958), and Gino Severini (1883-i966).'

Visitors to the exhibition would no doubt have sought some form of explanation beyond the manifesto, and in "Les exposants au public" they were presented with ideas most of which had been previously aired by Boc- cioni on 29 March i9 I in a lecture on "Futurist painting" at the Circolo Internazionale Artistico of Rome. In its Paris version the essay opened with the bold assertion that the present show was the most important exhibition of Italian art ever held in Europe, the exhibitors themselves being the most advanced of European painters.

In so saying, the Futurists meant to place themselves not only above the Impressionists, but also above those painters whose work grew out of a reaction to them: the "Post-Impressionists, Synthetists, and Cubists of Fran- ce," all of whose static panels were felt to betray a certain

"veiled academicism" ("academisme masque"). In stri- dent opposition to this tradition, the Futurists claimed to depict "dynamic sensations" ("sensations dynami- ques"): the simultaneous presentation of memories and perceptions of the visible and invisible inclinations and movements that were supposedly natural to individual objects.

The exhibition attracted much attention, albeit not primarily on account of the accessibility of its underlying theory. It appears to have been more of a "succes de curiosite, spurred on by, among other things, Mari- netti's two lectures, on 9 and i ; February. Only Gustave Kahn (i859-I936), the poet who had preceded Marinet- ti in the use of free verse, was moved to organize a banquet in honor of the mavericks. Just as they believed the subversion of the status quo to be an artistic gesture, an example being their celebration of a new order re- gardless of the violence necessary to accomplish it, so the Futurists seemed consciously to invite the condemna- tion of the rest of the Parisian art world. In the meantime, however, an unrelenting stream of viewers made its way to the "salon" at Bernheim-Jeune. The newspa- per L'Intransigeant reported as follows: "There is no denying that the Futurist Salon is never empty. Unceas- ingly, a revolving crowd lines up in front of the 36 can- vases-there are 36-by the disciples of Marinetti. Ele- gant automobiles, limousines, and convertibles purr outside the door. Plumed women come and go; they look, they pause; most of them sneer, snicker; others remain in front of this spectacle stunned, as the saying went in the seventeenth century. But they will speak

* This article, which has been translated from the Dutch by Claudia Swan, was written with financial support from the Netherlands Orga- nization for Scientific Research (NWO). I am grateful to W. van den Berg and P. W. M. de Meijer for their comments on an earlier version.

I These texts, from the catalogue Les peintres futuristes italiens. Exposition du lundi s au samedi 24 fevrier I9I2, are reproduced in G. Lista, Futurisme. Manifestes, proclamations, documents, Lausanne 1973, pp. i63-66, i67-71.



I40 TON VAN KALMTHOUT

only of this [...] and that's it, success, that's true glory!"2 It was in this fashionable company that the exhibition

came to be visited by the Rotterdam notary P.J. van Wijngaarden (i864-I933). Van Wijngaarden occupied a prominent position in the cultural life of his native city: since I903 he had presided over the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring (Rotterdam Art Circle), a society founded in i893 through which members of the upper middle- class gave support to the fine and decorative arts, music, belles lettres and theater, aiming among other things to establish "convivial exchanges" ("gezellig verkeer") between practitioners and amateurs of these disci- plines.3 Under van Wijngaarden's direction, this multidisciplinary arts club consolidated its reputation for sponsoring modern and previously unfamiliar forms of artistic expression. It comes as no surprise then that its president should have conceived of the idea to exhibit the much-discussed Futurists under these auspices.

Upon van Wijngaarden's return from France, the secretary of the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring, the art dealer Albert Reballio (i865-I936; fig.2), inquired of Bernheim-Jeune et Cie. as to whether the Futurist exhibition might be shown in Rotterdam in September. His contact in Paris promised to forward the request to the Futurist representative Marinetti; early on, however, it appeared that compliance would not come easily. News was sent shortly thereafter from the Paris art gallery that the collection could not for the time being travel to Rot- terdam, as Marinetti had made other commitments elsewhere. Indeed, it was scheduled to go up during the upcoming months at the Sackville Gallery in London, then in Berlin, in the exhibition space of the avant-garde organization Der Sturm, and finally at the Salle Giroux in Brussels.4

Bernheim-Jeune managed to further protract negotiations an extra few months by refusing to bring Mari- netti in direct contact with the Kunstkring, pending their deposit with the gallery of 15% of the proceeds in advance, a condition to which London and Brussels were also subject. A difficult correspondence ensued; the Parisians were made to understand that in principal only the 8oo or so members, who paid no entry fee, had access to their exhibitions,5 and that there thus could be no talk of a commission. Finally, on 23 May, Bernheim- Jeune announced that Marinetti himself would be in touch. "We are very pleased," they added, "to have been able to mediate this affair" ("Nous sommes tres

i Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

2 L'Intransigeant is here quoted from Lista, op. cit. (note I), p.49, note 43: "Il n'y a pas a dire, le Salon des Futuristes ne desemplit pas. Sans cesse une foule renouvel&e defile devant les trente-six toiles- elles sont trente-six--qu'ont expose les disciples de Marinetti. Des autos 616gantes, des limousines et des coupes ronflent a la porte. Les femmes empanach es vont et viennent; elles regardent, hesitent; la plupart denigrent ou pouffent de rire; d'autres, devant ce spectacle, demeurent stupides, comme on disait au grand siecle. Mais elles parle- ront que de ca... et c'est cela, le succes, c'est cela la gloire!" The figure of 36 works is incorrect. The exhibition catalogue lists 35, of which nr. 27, Lumiere 'lectrique by Giacomo Balla, was not shown.

3 "Statuten van den "Rotterdamschen Kunstkring"," I900, art. II (Rotterdam City Archives, Rotterdamsche Kunstkring Archive, inv. nr.i).

4 The exhibition visited London in March I9I 2, Berlin in April and May, and Brussels in June.

5 The (mainly male) members were, however, entitled to introduce ladies and minors as guests.

6 For the negotiations between Bernheim-Jeune et Cie. and the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring, see the copies of Reballio's letters to Bernheim of 8 March, 14, 17 and 2i April, 7 and io May I9I2, and Bernheim's to the Kunstkring of I2 March, 6 and I5 April, 9 and 23 May I9I2 (Rotterdamsche Kunstkring Archive, inv. nrs. 43 and 70). See also the Kunstkring committee minutes of i5 March, I2 and I9 April, and 28 May I912 (ibid., inv. nr.8).



I 7 letters from F. T. Marinetti, I 9 12 - I 3 14I

; >,rs, _'f':-B:.^s-.

vSSbrSS -| bS.S

Vi : .:9B B.-: i

0 s4Zzsss .

US _s E _l .- *_

?/ _ _ k

.: t 5 .-_

- i #tiS gv _

ii: :'ssi?E :E::t-s ji: i:4^- _ .iS i-fv s Lt E, *:; L * :E; gE5':,<sj _ _ _ .: .... '' A: j,;: > V5<6. ....... s: . ib s

* : i :ggi ;ig :,: : :': i::' _ : ;L: ' ^:AbS t?::- s ::::: hE1: :: > Z: < .: >5_s:

-E ;EdE:z:s i! :, ZkESbS-E i! - ; : Z P: f: .:B.-: h b * _

i Ss 0 D: :R 7 r s ^ zv ss i_ x

Es g--.#,- s l s g: +s si>zW _ _ ig

; f yf ;t s ilS i; * S aFgA SE E Ef i

:E ir.{::i55.;s; K ae wa r 5 5,,5 g .5 <.s>Q. 2 ,5j

Q : ::iT: f: t.fi:,, Si8z'<isbf<5i5>4 w . - ;; iw i , ,.52: S.5s rv45 S^. Ss55ffii %.sA ]

:; i4.:i.tEtig::g.$:ggEQ#,< .8,.iS FTs4r;, i i ' [ s: >>?g: :.-: is,: :::^ .z5 5 ... 5 ....... mbs

: 5;:. r ., . ir.5S g #:; g N 5 5F5vr .?j v ^-N Ms . E E s

: v ::5 5:::5 tat D E 5 g > b?S ............ : : z) ac lEs485

s5EREsQ K5,i:E:s: Z : 5, s 55 . :, ER.< b E .r.48 55

i5s 05 i: S 5 i5;;i; ..i.4.S:.i: i;, :r gg :: ?'.:s. ! g >, _ -i:.s :t::: ut: 5rrk ,: >? :.' "9 3 Hr-Tj.:: rR 055 X ;,<? s 5y-l ?,# j g .E.,. ,.,?l lye 55;5 _i!Cfs i +5

,- .E 5slll.r. f d: 5 : :. >: > r s W bgi -ME

: 5 :.:: -s, 5 ;. *5. fS .:::: t: ::.b: + .R.Z>??: zs?.vsR.E: :i. | 5<v # :5:; usr 5:; E PF r S

! 0X' _ X Rrts < ... _ RE wr 5 | IFs?;z R: d5 b.

rffi

l ? i ? ? g aR:{. _

I I _^ _W .

r25s ' ! . 4? i:2?

wo o? LiiB r EBs:s.S. bb

-. B 5E 5s r;

..Zl;5,,55 j

, Es *: ,,5 _

g X o _ . : _

b oP] . [_

, . b -

I I

i

?5_l fi |

__w g _-: __ - ?5

2 Albert Reballio

heureux d'avoir pu nous entremettre gracieusement en cette occasion").6

The delay had in any case given the directors of the Kunstkring time to acquaint themselves with Futur- ism.7 Marinetti would no longer have been unknown to them by the time their correspondence began-a correspondence that has recently been discovered in nearly complete form, along with three Futurist circulars, in the archive of the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring.8

THE CORPUS This article presents the complete text of Marinetti's letters,9 with explanatory commentary. I 0 The material consists of I 7 letters, penned in a bold hand, from the period 7 June 19I2 through 23 October I913. They are all written without corrections on writing paper with the bright red letterhead:

Movimento Futurista diretto da F. T. MARINETTI MILANO, Corso Venezia, 6i Telefono 40-8i.

7 Van Wijngaarden handed round a booklet on the movement; see the committee minutes of 29 March I912. This was probably Marinetti's Le Futurisme, which was published in Paris in i9i I.

8 The letters and circulars have been collated from the Rotterdam- sche Kunstkring Archive, inv. nrs.43, 44, 306d and 417. D. Welling, "De Kring en de beeldende kunst," in A.J. Teychin6 Stakenburg (ed.), Uit de kunst: 75 jaar Rotterdamsche Kunst Kring, Rotterdam i985, pp.43-88, esp. p. 58, refers to one of these letters in his review of the exhibition when he mentions "a handwritten letter preserved in the Kunstkring archive" ("een met de hand geschreven brief in het Kunstkringarchief... bewaard").

9 The originals of these documents will be found in the Appendix on pp. I57-6i. The following conventions have been observed in the transcriptions. The date, salutation, main text, signature and post- scripts are set to the left; the first line of a new paragraph is indented; a postscript other than at the very end of the letter follows the main text; consecutive words which are individually underlined are reproduced in continuous italics; a partially underlined word is italized in full; single and double underlining (as in the case of Marinetti's signature) is given simply in italics; any missing full stops at the end of sentences have been made good, as have missing accents; all other additions are set between square brackets.

Io Although there is abundant literature on the rise of Futurism in various European countries, there is relatively little documentation on the situation in the Netherlands. This point was recently raised by N. Stoop, "De rol van het Futurisme in Nederland: het Futurisme en De Stijl," in M. H. Wurzner et al., Aspecten van het interbellum: beeldende kunst, film, fotografie, cultuurfilosofie en literatuur in de periode tussen de

twee Wereldoorlogen, Leids Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 7 (i988), pp. 122-41, esp. p. I22. This article ties in directly with I. Larmoyeur, "Theo van Doesburg/I.K. Bonset en het Italiaanse Futurisme," De Revisor I 6 (i 989), nr. 2, pp. 83 -93. For example, the main source literature on Futurism and Marinetti, who was a prolific correspondent, makes no mention of the Rotterdam material. This applies to the large collection of documents in M. Drudi Gambillo and T. Fiori, Archivi del Futurismo, 2 vols., Rome 1958-62; Lista, op. cit. (note i); idem, Marinetti et le Futurisme: etudes, documents, iconographie, Lausanne I977. Unless otherwise stated, these three works are the source for my commentary, along with C. Baumgarth, Geschichte des Futurismus, Hamburg i966; exhib. cat. Futurismo L5 Futurismi, Milan (Palazzo Grassi) i986; G. Lista, Lesfuturistes, Paris i988; A.B. Loosjes-Terp- stra, Moderne kunst in Nederland I900-I94, Utrecht i987; and M.W. Martin, Futurist art and theory io9-ii5, Oxford i968.

I have also consulted M. Calvesi, Der Futurismus: Kunst und Leben, Cologne i987; U. Apollonio (ed.), Futurist manifestos, London 1973; J. Huneker, Ivory apes and peacocks, London (n.d.), esp. pp. 262-74; G. Lista, Marinetti, Paris I976; P. de Meijer, "Het Italiaans Futurisme," in F. Drijkoningen, J. Fontijn et al. (eds.), Historische avantgarde: programmatische teksten van het Italiaans Futurisme, het Russisch Futu- risme, Dada, het Constructivisme, het Surrealisme, het Tsjechisch Poetis- me, Amsterdam i986, pp.55-1I0; M. Perlof, The futurist moment: avant-garde, avant guerre and the language of rupture, Chicago & Lon- don i986; J.C. Taylor, Futurism, New York i96i; C. Tisdall and A. Bozzolla, Futurism, London I989. Finally, I have drawn on the archi- val sources preserved under the inventory numbers given in notes 6 and 8.



142 TON VAN KALMTHOUT

They therefore stem from Marinetti's Casa Rossa head- quarters where, among other things, the movement's correspondence and the distribution of Futurist writings were seen to. The letters as well as some of the enclosures are written in French, a language in which Marinetti also published.

The corpus not only provides a relatively complete account of the course of events around the Rotterdam exhibition, but also an occasional inkling of Futurist operations elsewhere in Europe. To his Rotterdam cor- respondents Marinetti revealed above all his profession- al character; his letters are predominantly concerned with the exhibition. He comes across as a courteous or- ganizer, energetic and at times forceful, and he com- pletes the task set before him with unmistakable dedication. In this he found a kindred spirit in Reballio, whose organizational talents he capitalized on gratefully. With time a certain esteem for the secretary emerges in the letters, the tone being occasionally even friendly.

ORGANIZATION Marinetti wrote his first letter after returning to Italy from Belgium. There he had delivered a lecture on 2 June in connection with the exhibition in Brussels. Two days later, he and Boccioni held a debate with a number of painters from the Cercle des Indepen- dants. He lost no time in getting to the point with his contacts in Rotterdam, eager as he was to avoid any financial misunderstandings.

7 June 1912

Dear Sir,

I have just arrived from Brussels. Thank you for your very kind offer. As the season is quite advanced, it will be necessary to hold off until next fall or winter.

I should inform you that, generally speaking, we rarely agree to exhibit without this condition sine qua non: All expenses for the transport of paintings, express rate, from their points of origination to the city where the exhibition is to be held and their return, also express, are to be paid by the organizers of the exhibition.

Kindly respond as to whether you agree with these terms.

Thanking you in advance, I send my my [sic] best wishes.

F. T. Marinetti

P.S. The 34 paintings exhibited in Paris, London, Berlin, and Brussels have all been sold for a total sum of 4o,ooo francs.

In a letter drafted by van Wijngaarden, Reballio responded on i2 June saying that the Kunstkring could meet Marinetti's conditions, on the understanding that if the show were a success "and in your case we have no doubt that it shall be" ("et dans votre cas nous n'en doutons pas")-and other Dutch artistic societies wanted to host the exhibition after its stay in Rotterdam, they would be responsible for paying return freight. The Kunstkring had reasonable grounds for making this proviso, as news of the exhibition had spread quickly, and a few affiliated associations had already shown interest.I I

A more troublesome proviso was introduced relating to the question raised by Marinetti's postscript. It was no doubt intended as a recommendation, but naturally worried the directors of the Kunstkring, as they wished to exhibit precisely those paintings that had already been sold. It was expressly stipulated that Rotterdam would receive exactly the same exhibition van Wijngaar- den had seen in Paris, if possible supplemented by additional works. Although there was little chance of the works being reassembled in Rotterdam as they had since been dispersed to various collections, nevertheless the Kunstkring directors declared their trust in the new owners) willingness to lend their works for the Septem- ber exhibition. ' 2

Three weeks later, Marinetti replied to this letter and to the (now lost) telegram that followed it. Rotterdam, he asserted, would have to accept the show presently being organized by the Futurists in Rome; a repeat of the Paris exhibition would indeed be impossible.

i i See the letter to Reballio from the Vereeniging St Lucas, Am- sterdam, dated 31 May 1912, and that of 7 June 1912 from J. Konings- berger on behalf of Artibus Sacrum, Arnhem. See also the Kunstkring

committee minutes of 7 June I912. 12 See the copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti of 12 June 1912;

also van Wijngaarden's draft letter of I I June 191 2.



17 letters from F. T. Marinetti, 1912-I3 143

3 July [19I2]

Secretary of the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring Rotterdam

Please excuse my delay in answering your last letter, as well as your last telegram. As the dates of our exhibition in Rome, scheduled to take place during the upcoming fall, have not yet been set, it is impossible to make any decisions regarding your exhibition.

It is clear in any case that we will not be able to exhibit with you in September or October.

As for the terms, we are in full agreement, except for the matter of the paintings that your president saw in Paris: they have all been sold, and we hardly hope to be able to exhibit them any longer.

It is, however, perhaps more advantageous for you to assemble works not yet seen in Paris.

Please write to me concerning the above matters, and accept my warmest greetings.

F. T. Marinetti

By suggesting an exclusive for Holland, as he seems to in his counter-proposal, Marinetti touched a nerve; Rebal- lio consequently thanked him "with all his heart" for nevertheless making an exhibition possible, and politely encouraged him to reserve a date for it after January I9I3.'3

The sense of relief was short-lived, however. A bank- er in Berlin, a certain Dr Borchardt, had purchased the lion's share of the exhibited paintings. Consequently, he

agreed to allow the writer and composer Herwarth Wal- den (i876-i941), editor of Der Sturm, to organize a traveling exhibition of the Borchardt Collection, as his contribution to the advancement of Futurism. Holland too was included in the program, as Der Sturm announced to the press. It is not difficult to imagine the bewilder- ment of the Kunstkring committee on reading in the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant of 30 July that the antici- pated exclusive had been snatched from under their noses. "The Futurists will come to our country, and very soon, though not to Rotterdam. Vague promises had been made to the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring that it could exhibit this curious artistic movement. The art market has beaten them to it yet again. The works will be at Biesing in The Hague for a fortnight: from 2 to I 5 August. On 2 August, Herwarth Walden, director of Der Sturm, will hold a lecture on the exhibition."I4

Asked to explain, Marinetti declared that he knew nothing, although he had his suspicions.

8 August 1912

Dear Sir,

I have had absolutely no hand in organizing Futurist exhibitions in Holland, neither in The Hague nor in Rotterdam, it being totally impossible for us to make any commitments at the present time.

These are evidently the 24 Futurist paintings that we sold to a collector from Berlin. It is most certainly this collector who is responsible for the exhibition being

13 Copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti of 6 July I9I2. 14 Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 30 July 19I2: "De Futuristen

komen wel in ons land en al spoedig, doch niet te Rotterdam. Men weet, dat er een vage toezegging was, dat de Rotterdamsche Kunst- kring dit curieus kunststreven zou laten zien. De kunsthandel is weder v66r geweest. Het werk komt veertien dagen bij Biesing in Den Haag: van 2-I5 Augustus. Herwarth Walden, de bestuurder van Der Sturm, zal er den 2en Augustus een rede over houden."

This piece was written by Johan de Meester, as one learns from the Kunstkring committee minutes of I2 August 1912. The members were offended by the remark that the art market had snatched a prize from under their noses "yet again," and the committee portrayed Borchardt and Walden as vulgar showmen, by writing "...to Mr de Meester, that we find unseemly the form in which the report in the NRC announced the forthcoming exhibition of the Futurists with

Biesing in The Hague, that no vague promises were made to us, and that we are still conducting negotiations. The Futurists shown in the Biesing Gallery belong to a Berlin group which has bought them with the intention of exploiting them and touring the world with them" ("...aan den Heer de Meester te schrijven dat de vorm, waarin het berichtje in de N.R.C. over de ophanden zijnde tentoonstelling der Futuristen bij Biesing in Den Haag aankondigde [sic] ons onaan- genaam heeft getroffen, dat ons geen vage toezegging gedaan was, en wij nog steeds in onderhandeling zijn. De in de Kunstzaal Biesing tentoongestelde Futuristen eigendom zijn van een Berlijnsche combi- natie, die deze bijeen hebben [sic] gekocht, teneinde deze te ex- ploiteeren en er de wereld mee rond te reizen").

See also the copy of Reballio's letter on behalf of the Kunstkring to "den Heer Redacteur der rubriek Letteren en Kunst N. R. Courant," 20 August I912.




discussed by the press. This exhibition will in no way prevent us from

organizing another this winter, also in Holland, containing new Futurist paintings and especially works of Futurist sculptors that have not yet been exhibited anywhere.

Our exhibition, containing more paintings than those preceding it, will have an added attraction for the public: Futurist sculpture. Furthermore, I intend to promote the intellectual success of this show by means of one or two lectures given by myself or my colleagues.

Please write telling me what you think of all of this, and which months you would be able to put at our disposal, following the month of October.

Thanking you in advance, I send you my warmest greetings.

F. T. Marinetti

New paintings, lectures, sculptures never before seen by the public-Marinetti seemed anxious to keep the pos- sibility of a Rotterdam show open. Upping the ante was indeed necessary though, as chairman van Wijngaarden had begun to lose interest now that Biesing, the Hague art dealer, had made off with the Futurist honors. In an emergency meeting scheduled to discuss Marinetti's letter the Kunstkring committee nevertheless decided to give him another chance; now, however, he would have to commit himself to a schedule for the exhibition. Re- ballio added to his response to Marinetti that, in so many words, "we want absolutely to be thefirst to exhibit this

collection of Futurist painting and sculpture in Hol- land." I 5

Marinetti's reply was circulated among the members of the committee; this may explain its loss. From the minutes of the next meeting it appears that he "had promised the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring an exhibition of Futurist painting and sculpture in April 1913" and asked the directors to confirm "that we [i.e., the Kunst- kring] pay all shipping costs, express rate, from Milan to Rotterdam and back, and that publicity will be carried out in a fashion worthy of their goals." A mildly irritated van Wijngaarden responded by proposing that so far as costs were concerned Marinetti should refer to the letter of I2 June and, on the subject of publicity, answered merely that "we shall do it in the usual manner and as we see fit." I 6

Van Wijngaarden's annoyance can only have grown at the reappearance of the Borchardt Collection in Sep- tember, now in Amsterdam where, sponsored by the weekly paper De Kunst, it was on view at the Galerie De Roos. Shortly thereafter De Kunst sent the Kunstkring committee an invitation to the opening of the third exhibition of the collection this time in Rotterdam, at 01- denzeel's gallery, and in September, the very month in which the Kunstkring had originally requested to host the show.I7 Moreover, Futurism was receiving ample attention in the press. The Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Cou- rant devoted two articles to the Oldenzeel exhibition, reporting conditions reminiscent of Paris: "the public streams through, in herds, solemnly, steadily" on 25 September; "and is still streaming through," the paper reported one week later. ' 8

i5 Kunstkring committee minutes, and the copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti, both of i2 August i9i2: "...nous desirons absolument d'ftre les premiers a exposer cette collection de peinture et de sculpture futuriste en Hollande."

i6 Kunstkring committee minutes of 3o August i9i2: "...den Rot- terdamschen Kunstkring in April 19I3 een tentoonstelling toezegd [sic] van Futuristisch schilder- en beeldhouwwerk... dat alle vracht- kosten "grande vitesse" van Milaan naar Rotterdam en terug voor onze rekening zijn, en die reclame zal worden gemaakt die hun streven verdient.... wij die zullen doen zooals gewoonlijk, en zooals wij die noodig achten". See also the copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti of 2 September I9I2.

17 Letter of 22 September I9I2 from N.H. Wolf on behalf of De Kunst to the Kunstkring committee. See also the committee minutes of 27 September I9I2. The Oldenzeel exhibition was held from 24 September to 6 October, and it seems that the same show went on display in Munich, Budapest, Chicago, Karlsruhe, Breslau, Dresden,

Frankfurt, Hamburg, Vienna and Zurich. i8 "De Futuristen, Kunsthandel Oldenzeel," Nieuwe Rotterdam-

sche Courant, 24 en 25 sept. I9I2: "'t Publiek stroomt, in kudden, statig, gestadig," and "Oldenzeel, De Futuristen," idem, 30 Septem- ber I9I2: "Het... blijft... stroomen,." For other reactions to Futurism in the Dutch press see, inter alia, K. Revier, "De Nederlandse pers over het futurisme," De Gids 148 (I985), pp. 578-85; J.H.A. Fontijn and I. Polak, "Modernisme," in G.J. van Bork and N. Laan (eds.), Twee eeuwen literatuurgeschiedenis. Poeticale opvattingen in de Neder- landse literatuur, Groningen I 986, pp. I 82 - 207, esp. pp. I 87-88; J. de Vries and E. van Uitert, "Het Nederlands Modernisme," in J. de Vries (ed.), Nederland I9I3. Een reconstructie van het culturele leven, Haarlem I988, pp. 217-30, esp. p. 220; A.H. den Boef, "Futurisme in domineesland. Aantekeningen bij de receptie van het futurisme in Nederland," in F. Joostens (ed.), Het esthetisch belang. Nieuwe ontwik- kelingen in de literatuursociologie, Tilburg I990, pp. 65-80.



17 letters from F. T. Marinetti, 1912-I3 145

The attention enjoyed by their competition forcibly diminished the committee's zest for holding their own Futurist exhibition. Receiving the Manifeste technique de la sculpture futuriste toward the beginning of October did little to help. This document, dated i i April 1912, and signed by Boccioni, opens with the declaration that sculpture "such as it appears to us in the monuments and exhibitions of Europe offers an utterly lamentable spectacle of barbarism and doltishness; my Futurist eye recoils in horror and disgust." Consequently the author proposed to transgress the laws of traditional sculpture, proclaiming "the complete abolition of the finite line and closed sculpture. Let us open the figure like a win- dow, and enclose within it the environment in which it lives.""'

The committee members' views on this remarkable pronouncement about the sculptures they were to exhibit were consistent: "if this exhibition does not take place it will be no cause for lamentation." It was agreed to let matters take their own course.20

There was little alternative: on i October the first Balkan War broke out, and Marinetti joined up with the Bulgarian troops in order to witness the bombardment of the Turkish city Adrianople (Edirne) a golden opportunity to partake in the most direct way possible of the day of reckoning for an existing order. That he took the ideas his movement propagated so literally he kept to himself when, four months later, he finally re-estab- lished contact with Reballio.

27 December 1912

My dear colleague,

Innumerable contretemps, which there is little point in my enumerating here, force me to ask you a great favor-namely, to put off the Exhibition of Futurist Painting and Sculpture in Rotterdam for about one month.

We would be most obliged to the Rotterdamsche

Kunstkring if you could schedule our exhibition to openfrom Io to I5 May.

This way, I would be able to guarantee not only my lecture on the Futurist Movement in general, but also that (of much greater interest for Dutch painters and sculptors) of my friend the Futurist painter and sculptor Boccioni.

Please respond, as soon as possible, with regard to this great favor I am asking of you. Thanking you in advance, I send you my best wishes and warmest greetings.

F. T. Marinetti

P.S. Naturally, nothing has changed as regards the other terms agreed to.

F. T.M.

It is not clear whether this request for postponement actually had anything to do with Boccioni's lecture or whether Marinetti's Balkan adventure had simply de- layed the organizational process. In any case, the elapsed time seems to have relaxed the tormented committee sufficiently that they presently consented to opening the exhibition on io May I9I3, in spite of the fact that, according to Reballio, the rescheduling had caused "innumerable difficulties" and that it was mutually agreed not to pay for the lectures.2I But for the Futurist leader money seems not to have been an issue. He responded contentedly:

7 January 1913

Dear Sir,

I have received your letter of 4 January, in which you inform me that the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring is willing to postpone the opening of our Futurist exhibition to io May. Please thank the directors warmly

I9 Manifeste technique de la sculpture futuriste, (unpag.): "...telle qu'elle nous apparait dans les monuments et dans les expositions d'Europe nous offre un spectacle si lamentable de barbarie et de ba- lourdise, que mon oeil futurists s'en doigne avec horreur et dugout.... l'abolition complete de la ligne finie et de la statue ferm&e. Ouvrons la

figure comme une fenetre et enfermons en elle le milieu oii elle vit." 20 Kunstkring committee minutes of i October I9I2: "dat het

niet rouwig zal zijn als deze tentoonstelling niet komt." 2I Copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti of 4 January I913, and the

Kunstkring committee minutes of 3 January I 9 I 3.




on my behalf. We are presently in complete agreement on all

points. Please accept, dear Sir, the expression of my grati-

tude and intellectual sympathy.

F. T. Marinetti

For the time being the arrangements made seemed to be sufficient; all that remained was to wait until spring. In the meantime, the Futurist movement kept in contact by forwarding a new manifesto, evidently the much-dis- puted Manifeste futuriste de la luxure dated i i January I913, Paris, by Valentine de Saint-Point (i875-1953).

This poetess, answering for the "Action Feminine" within the movement, had been the focus of the attention of press and public alike the year before on account of the ideas among other things, on sensuality-expressed in her Manifeste de lafemmefuturiste. Now she offered a

Response to the irresponsible journalists who mutilate sentences in order to ridicule the Idea; to those who think what I have dared to speak; to those for whom Lust is still only a sin; to those who achieve in Lust only Vice, as in Pride only Vanity.

"Lust," writes Saint-Point, "is a strength," and reading her assertion that it is quite usual following a battle "for the victors, selected by war, to commit even rape in the vanquished lands in order to recreate life,"22 it is not difficult to imagine why the men and women members of the Kunstkring committee merely made note of the manifesto, only to banish it to silence.23

One month later, however, on I4 March, the silence was broken. At a meeting held on that day attention was called to the fact that the Futurists would indeed come in May, "though after what has taken place in Rome we

may be spared their arrival." There was even talk of a substitute exhibition.24 What had happened in Rome?

In February and March the Futurists had rented the ballroom of the Teatro Costanzi to exhibit their most recent work. There they held several of their renowned soirees-artistic and political manifestations whose pro- grams featured Futurist music, explications of their paintings, and readings of manifestos or other Futurist texts. The provocative and propagandistic spirit that must have animated these evenings led not infrequently to heated confrontations with and among members of the audience.

The Grande Serata Futurista on 9 March I9I3, was a case in point. Maestro Francesco Balilla Pratella (i88o- I955) planned to conduct his Futurist symphony, Inno alla vita, and Marinetti to recite poetry. Boccioni was to follow, speaking on "Pittura e scultura futurista," before Marinetti concluded the evening with a "Consiglio ai Romani." Two days later however news of what had actually taken place reached Rotterdam: immediately following the first notes played, the soiree had disinte- grated, with the audience pelting the performers with apples, tomatoes, oranges, and so forth, and the Futur- ists then appearing on the stage to hurl various pointed maledictions at their audience. "Then the tussle began; both sides sustained nasty injuries. Marinetti fled and the painter Boccioni was arrested."25

No less disquieting was the long article of i5 March in the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, "Futurism, the art of the future-dramatic theater in several acts," which provided further coverage of the incident. "Whether the Futurists will appear again in Rome after last Sunday is doubtful. They took a pretty harsh beating from the Romans. Pratella was forced to delay his symphony when the bombarded musicians, ignoring the dictates of his baton, took to their heels. Despite the cabbage-stalks coming hard and fast, he himself remained at his po- dium. Marinetti was beaten black and blue and last seen

22 Valentine de Saint-Point, Manifeste futuriste de la luxure, (unpag.): "Reponse aux journalistes improbes qui mutilent les phrases pour ridiculiser l'Id&e; celles qui pensent ce que j'ai ose dire; a ceux pour qui la Luxure n'est encore que peche; i tous ceux qui n'atteignent dans la Luxure que le Vice, comme dans l'Orgeuil que la Vanite .... La Luxure est une force.... que les victorieux, selectionnes par la guerre, aillent, en pays conquis, jusqu'au viol pour recreer de la vie."

23 Kunstkring committee minutes of 7 February 1913.

24 Kunstkring committee minutes of 14 March 1913: "doch na het gebeurde in Rome zouden wij misschien van hun komst verschoond blijven."

25 Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, I I March I913: "Toen begon de vechtpartij, waarbij aan weerszijden leelijke kwetsuren werden op- geloopen. Marinetti vluchtte en de schilder Boccioni werd gearres- teerd." The NRC took its information from the Berliner Tageblatt.



17 letters from F. T. Marinetti, 19I2-I3 147

in a cafe, hatless and missing one shoe; the rest of his clothes were also totally disheveled and soiled. Boccioni received such a blow to the eye when he ventured into the streets that a full symphony of colors was conjured up around his eye-socket. He declared however that he would reproduce all of the lights and sparks he had seen dancing before his injured eye while the fist lingered there in a painting. "The Shiner" is expected shortly.

The men were terribly knocked about; Roman princes and office clerks, everyone joined in to perfect the massacre of the Futurists. Having all already slightly lost their senses, they came to sustain other, more pain- ful injuries as well. Some of the participants are still bed- ridden."2 6

A few weeks later, Marinetti had come up with his own reading of the situation. With the following letter he sent a circular in Italian, which the committee was unable to read. This piece has not been located but the letter is sufficient to give the impression that the Futu- rists felt not in the least defeated by their opponents, the "passeistes." There is even talk of a banquet, of a sump- tuousness to equal the earlier one in Paris. Moreover, their leader appended to his letter a draft of the catalogue for the forthcoming exhibition in Rotterdam, re- lieving the worried Kunstkring committee of any uncer- tainty as to whether he was still committed to the show.

31 March 19I3

My dear colleague,

We have not yet spoken of the Catalogue. It goes without saying that our exhibition will not be complete without a fine catalogue, in Dutch, and containing, ifyou judge it fitting, photographs. Please write to me regarding this last.

I urge you to check the accuracy, yourself, of the

translation and the layout of the contents, which I have indicated with care in the enclosed manuscript.

As to the brochure, please follow as closely as possible that of Bernheim, which seems to me to be elegant and perfect.

The title of the brochure should be: Les peintres et sculpteursfuturistes italiens, and below this whatever reference you see fit to the Rotterdamsche Kunst- [k]ring.

Please write to me as soon as possible, above all with regard to the photographs.

I do not know how ample your reading knowledge of Italian is. Nevertheless, I am sending you a circular that will tell you of the violent and victorious battles we have just waged in Rome against the passeistes, and that will permit you to reconstruct the truth so sys- tematically distorted by the great European dailies.

I am most anxious that in the circles over which you preside it be understood that we have been neither scarred nor even scratched; on the contrary, our enemies the passe'istes, beaten black and blue by in- sults and dynamic ideas, recoil in the face of our grow- ing strength. They have gone even further, after our battle at Costanzi; they have offered us a grand banquet!!!

In anticipation of the pleasure of making your personal acquaintance and of discussing "batailles et idees futuristes" with you, I thank you in advance and send my warmest greetings.

F. T. Marinetti

However dubious the prospect of this pleasure may have been, the Kunstkring was obliged to honor the previous arrangements and thus also deal with the catalogue. The design submitted by Marinetti contains three unnum- bered and 22 hand-paginated sheets, whose lengths vary

26 Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, I5 March I913: "Of na jongst- leden Zondag de futuristen n6g eens in Rome zullen optreden valt te betwijfelen. Ze zijn wat hee1 hardhandig door de Romeinen aangepakt. Pratella heeft zijn sinfonie moeten staken, omdat de gebombardeerde musici zich aan den dwang van zijn dirigeerstok onttrokken en het hazenpad kozen. Hij zelf bleef op zijn pupiter, hoewel enkele kool- stronken hard aankwamen. Marinetti is bont en blauw geslagen en werd laatstelijk gezien in een cafe, z6nder hoed en een schoen missend; verdere kleedij ook zeer verward en bezoedeld. Boccioni heeft zoo'n klap op zijn oog gekregen, toen hij zich op straat waagde, dat zich een

heele kleurensinfonie rond zijn oogholte heeft getooverd. Hij verklaar- de echter al de lichtjes en vonken, die hij voor het beleedigde orgaan zag dansen, terwijl de vuist er op verwijlde, te zullen weergeven in een schilderstuk. "De vuistslag op het oog" is dus weldra te verwachten...

De heeren zijn vreeselijk toegetakeld; Romeinsche prinsen en kan- toorklerken, alles heeft meegedaan om de futuristenslachting te ver- volmaken. Aan den klap van den molen, dien zij allen reeds beet hadden, heeft men andere en meer gevoelige toegevoegd. Eenigen ervan zijn dan ook nog bedlegerig." This report, which is dated iI March, was from an anonymous correspondent in Rome.




on account of pasted additions. The first sheet bears the title Les peintres et sculpteurs

futuristes italiens, with the revealing notation, "The word futuristes must be printed in very large letters" ("Le motfuturistes doit etre imprime en caracte'res tres grands"). As neither the catalogue nor the exhibition contained more than one sculptor, the title was some- what less than accurate.

The second sheet contains a printed enumeration of Futurist artists; the deleted text on the verso indicates that it was taken from a copy of the recent Manifeste futuriste de la luxure. By means of cutting, pasting, and handwritten notations, the name and address of the "Mouvementfuturiste / dirige par F. T. Marinetti" were added to the list; a few very recent developments in the movement were indicated as well. New to the "Paint- ing" section is Ardengo Soffici (i879-I964), a Florenti- ne whose first show was with the Futurists in Rome. Marinetti also introduced a new category, "The art of noise," for the painter Luigi Russolo (1885-1947), who devoted a manifesto to this art dated i i March I9I 3.

The third sheet bears the surnames of the exhibitors "Boccioni / Carrai / Russolo / Balla / Severini / Soffici," with the suggestion that "ces noms [be printed] en grands caracteres." Thirteen numbered pages follow, containing the Paris essay, "Les exposants au public."

To pages 3 through I 3 Marinetti attached i i more or less unmodified pages27 from the introduction to the Bernheim-Jeune catalogue (or from its proofs).28 As it exceeds the scope of this article to analyze this oft-discussed text, I will not concern myself with these printed pages here. The opening of the introduction specially composed for the Rotterdam exhibition, on pages i and 2 of the draft, is more interesting as autograph Marinet-

ti. It was to replace the first three paragraphs of the Paris introduction.29

Although the title "Les exposants au public" is main- tained in the manuscript (fig. 4), it appears to be the non- exhibiting Marinetti who is doing the talking, where there is no doubt as to the remarkable impact of the advance of the Futurists, who are said to have surpassed even the ultramodern Cubists and Fauvists. And yet Marinetti opens the preface for the exhibitors with a recollection of the first Futurist soiree, in the Politeama Chiarella in Turin, which had also resulted in a confron- tation with the audience.30

Since the famous battle of 8 March i9io, at the Chia- rella Theater in Turin, where, standing side by side with the poet Marinetti at the footlights, we launched our First Manifesto of Futurist Painting, and de- fended it by blows against many thousands of passeistes, we have fought with fury, conquered vast intellectual domain, labored with feverish intensity.

The Futurist exhibitions that have agitated and disrupted the intellectual elite of Paris, London, Ber- lin, Brussels, Hamburg, Amsterdam, The Hague, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, and Rome have demon- strated clearly that thanks to us Italy will henceforth form the avant-garde of world painting.

With the fervor of relentless pursuit, we have swift- ly surpassed the finest phases of French painting, from the nineteenth century to the most recent endea- vors of the Fauves and Cubists. The decisive importance of our aesthetic development has been observed and celebrated by the most formidable foreign critics: it suffices to mention M. Brooke, of the Times, P. G. Konody, of the Pall Mall Gazette, Herwarth Walden,

27 The only improvement that Marinetti made to the text was to replace the words "la personne" in the following passage on p. 6 with "le peintre": "En peignant une personne au balcon, vue de l'interieur, nous ne limitons pas la scene 'a ce que le carr6 de la fenetre permet de voir; mais nous nous efforqons de donner l'ensemble de sensations visuelles qu'a 6prouv~es la personne au balcon: grouillement ensoleille de la rue, double rangee des maisons qui se prolongent i sa droite et a sa gauche, balcons fleuris, etc." On p. 13 of the draft he inserted the information that Boccioni was a sculptor, and added Soffici's name to the list of signatories.

28 This can be deduced from the non-consecutive pagination (which is occasionally deleted) of the pasted sheets.

29 One result was the removal of a friendly word directed towards the Cubists. So as not to unduly interrupt the course of the passage, he also rewrote the beginning of the next paragraph, turning, "Tout en

admirant l'heroisme de ces peintres de tres haute valeur," into: "Tout en admirant 1'heroisme des Cubistes," which meshed in smoothly with the rest of the sentence: "qui ont manifesti un louable mepris du mercantilisme artistique et une haine puissante pour l'academisme, nous nous sentons et nous nous declarons absolument opposes a leur art."

The introduction for the Paris show had already undergone some minor changes for the London and Berlin venues, when the transla- tions "The exhibitors to the public" (in the catalogue Exhibition of works by the Italianfuturist painters), and "Die Aussteller an das Publi- kum" (in Der Sturm) appeared. See Apollonio, op. cit. (note lo), pp.45-50, and Der Sturm 3 (1912), nr. I05, pp.3-4.

30 The i9Io Manifeste des peintres futuristes mentioned at the beginning of this article also opens with a reference to this soiree.



17 letters from F.T. Marinetti, I912-13 I49

of the magazine Der Sturm, Ray Nyst of Belgique Ar- tistique et Litteraire, and the poet Gustave Kahn. The illustrious founder of free verse in French, and also the most modern of the Paris critics, he proclaimed in effect, in two very important articles in the Mercure de France, that such a considerable innovative movement has not been encountered since the first exhibitions of the Pointillists. 3 I

Marinetti supplemented this recommendation, on pages 14 and I 5 of the draft of the catalogue, with another self- congratulatory list of the "First series of Futurist paintings exhibited in Paris, London, Berlin, Brussels, Ham- burg, Amsterdam, The Hague, Vienna, and Budapest, and sold." The printed names of the works shown in Paris have been cut out and affixed, and the names of the current owner of each painting added.32 The remaining pages of the draft contain the actual catalogue of works.33 From pages i 6 to 2 I, 44 works are listed, with a single painter to each page. Finally, page 22 lists the two sculptures with which Boccioni intended to supplement his painted works.

Marinetti had given himself over to the exhibition. A

short while later he once more sent off some "parcels of Futurist writings and manifestos."34 It is possible that his subsequent letter (now lost), in which he apparently pressured the Kunstkring to respond to his proposed catalogue, was included in these parcels. On 7 April, Reballio responded to a letter of 3 April, writing that the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring would produce the catalogue in accordance with all of the instructions; it would not, though, be translated from the French as "every- body here understands the language" ("tout le monde ici comprend cette langue"). He was also anxious to know when exactly the works would arrive, and requested negatives of the necessary photographs.35

On i o April, the secretary of the Futurist Movement, the man of letters Decio Cinti, replied on behalf of Mari- netti, who was momentarily out of town. He sent photographs of six works, one for each of the participating artists.36 Upon his return a day later Marinetti wrote a letter revealing that it was the Roman exhibition that would be traveling to Rotterdam. Once again, he emphasized how important it was to him that the catalogue be of a high standard.

31 "Depuis la fameuse bataille du 8 Mars I9IO au Theitre Chiarella de Turin, durant laquelle, debout a la rampe, cote a cote avec le Poete Marinetti, nous avons lance et defendu i coups de poing notre Premier Manifeste de la Peinture futuriste contre plusieurs milliers de passeistes, nous avons combattu avec furie, conquis de vastes domaines intel- lectuels et travailk avec une fievre intense.

Les expositions futuristes qui ont successivement agite et boulever- se l'elite intellectuelle de Paris, Londres, Berlin, Bruxelles, Ham- bourg, Amsterdam, La Haye, Munich, Vienne, Budapest et Rome, ont demontre lumineusement que grace i nous l'Italie est desormais i l'avant-garde de la peinture mondiale.

Avec une ferveur de recherches acharnees, nous avons rapidement surpasse en nous-memes les phases merveilleuses de la peinture fran- caise au dixneuvieme siecle, jusqu'aux expressions toutes recentes des Fauves et des Cubistes. L'importan ce decisive de notre evolution es- thetique a &e constat&e et glorifi&e par les plus grands critiques etran- gers: il nous suffira de citer M. Brooke, du Times, P.G. Konody, de la Pall Mall Gazette, Herwarth Walden, de la revue Der Sturm, Ray Nyst de la Belgique Artistique et Litteraire et le poete Gustave Kahn. L'illustre createur du vers libre francais, qui est aussi le plus moderne des critiques parisiens, proclama en effet, dans deux articles tres im- portants du Mercure de France, qu'on n'avait certainement point vu de mouvement novateur aussi conside'rable depuis les premieres expositions des pointillistes."

I have no idea to which of Brooke's articles Marinetti was referring. Apart from that, he was probably thinking of P.G. Konody, "The Italian futurists. Nightmare exhibition at the Sackville Gallery," and

idem, "The futurists and their leader," Pall Mall Gazette, I and 6 March I9I2; H. Walden, "Confutazione, Difesa," Der Sturm 3 (19I2), nr. io8; R. Nyst, "Les salons: les peintres futuristes italiens," La Belgique Artistique et Littiraire, nr. 82, July I912; G. Kahn, "Les futuristes italiens" (from which the quotation is taken), and idem, "Les peintres futuristes," Mercure de France, i6 February and I March I912. Very much by the by, Marinetti also expressed his admi- ration of Kahn's wife in an autograph dedication in a copy of his Les dieux s'en vont, d'Annunzio reste. Dessins a la plume par Valeri, Paris i908, which is now in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague, shelfmark i19 M 15: "a Madame Gustave Kahn a sa tres haute et charmante intelligence hommage tres respectueux. F. T. Marinetti."

32 According to this list, most of the paintings were still owned by Borchardt (22 in all). The remainder went to Bernheim-Jeune (two), the musician Ferrucio Busoni (one), the art dealer R.R. Meyer-See (one), Max Rothschild (four) and Marinetti himself (four). See further the definitive catalogue, Les peintres et les sculpteursfuturistes italiens. Exposition du i8 mai au i5juin, Rotterdam I913, pp. 13-i6.

33 Ibid., pp. I9-34. 34 Kunstkring committee minutes, 4 April 19I3: "pakken futuristi-

sche geschriften en manifesten." This may be a reference to Russolo's L'Art des bruits, dated I March 1913, or to Boccioni's Fondements plastiques de la sculpture et de la peinturefuturistes, which appeared on I5 March 1913.

35 Copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti of 7 April 1913. 36 Letter from Cinti, on behalf of the Futurist Movement, to a

"Monsieur," io April I9I3.




3 Marinetti's letter to Rebalijo, dated I 4April 191I3

ii April [I913]

My dear colleague,

I have just arrived. I am delighted to hear that the catalogue will appear in French. You should by now have received the six photographs, of which you may make the negatives yourself.

All the works will leave Rome on the I5th. I have been assured that, by express freight, they should def- initely reach you around 3 or 4 May.

I urge you once more to adhere to my instructions regarding the organization of material in the catalogue.

Yours gratefully, my warmest greetings.

F. T. Marinetti

P.S. Please notify me as soon as you have received the photographs. Please have the negatives made as large as is possible within the format of the catalogue, which I wish to be identical to Bernheim's.

F. T.M.

In his response of i 5 April, Reballio informed Marinetti that if he wished the catalogue to contain more than two photographs he would have to pay for having the negatives made himself. The Kunstkring was eager to lighten the burden of their expenses elsewhere as well. The catalogue would be printed in such a way that it could be used for further exhibitions in Holland, and large numbers of unsold copies could, said Reballio, be bought by Marinetti on a cash basis.37

Reballio's missive crossed with Marinetti's next letter; within a week he had written again (fig. 3). It now appeared that the lecture scheduled to be given by Boc- cioni would no longer take place. Instead, Marinetti would appear alone.

I4 April I9I3

My dear colleague,

In anticipation of the pleasure of receiving word from you, I would like you please to schedule my first lecture on Futurism (from a literary point of view, primarily) for one of the first days of the exhibition.

I would like very much to hold this lecture on i i May. In any case, please select the most favorable

37 Copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti of I 5 April 19I3.



I7 letters from F.T. Marinetti, 1912-13 '5'

date. The second lecture (on painting) could take place one week later.

Please write to me as soon as possible concerning these matters. Thanking you in advance, I send you my best wishes.

F. T. Marinetti

In his reply of 20 April the secretary of the Kunstkring wrote that the exhibition could not open earlier than v7 May and that Marinetti's lectures were scheduled for the 2Ist and the 27th or 28th.38

Marinetti evidently felt that now that the dates were being set, the time was ripe to mobilize the press in the Netherlands. And although the Kunstkring committee had already assured him that they would advertise as they saw fit, he could not resist giving them an extra push.

[between 20 April and 3 May I913]39

My dear colleague,

I have received numerous letters from Holland, in- quiring as to the date of the opening of the exhibition and of my first lecture.

Please also distribute a circular to the Dutch press as soon as possible informing the public of the importance of this Futurist exhibition-a whole new series of paintings that have, until now, only been shown in Rome.

Do not forget to add that those who have spoken of Futurism in general or pictorial Futurism have not been sufficiently informed, or simply lacked the re- quisite mentality. Hence the importance of my first

lecture. I am eager that you should distribute this circular as quickly as possible, and thank you in advance.

Very truly yours.

F. T. Marinetti

Roughly simultaneous with this hardly meek request, which nevertheless bore no fruit,40 he answered Rebal- lio's letters of 20 and 15 April. He was unrelenting about Reballio's omitting certain photographs from the catalogue; the exhibitors were worthy of more. He had no doubt that the catalogue would sell well, since he had just witnessed the formation of a new Futurist group in Rome at the Caffi Groppo.

27 April [I913]

My dear colleague,

I have just arrived from Rome. Please excuse my delay in replying to your very kind letter.

I hasten to inform you that I am extremely anxious that the catalogue contain the six photographs I sent to you. They were chosen specifically to give a fairly exact impression of the six temperaments of the six painters who lead the Futurist pictorial movement. It is therefore necessary that the catalogue contain these six photographs.

I do not know whether you will sell the catalogue. In London, Berlin, Paris, and Brussels, the sale of the catalogues reached io,000 to 22,000 copies, at the price of 20 or 40 centimes. I advise you in any case to make a fairly large first edition, and to preserve the layout for successive editions.

38 Copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti of 20 April I913. Penciled in at the bottom of Marinetti's letter of 14 April are the words: "I7 of i8 Mei openen en dan kiezen welke datum voor conference" ("Open on I7 or i8 May, and then pick the date for the lecture").

39 This dating has been arrived at on the basis of the content of the letter. It clearly could not have been written before 14 April, because that was the first time that Marinetti mentions two lectures, not one, and here he speaks of "ma premiere conference." What makes a date after 20 April plausible is that it was on that day that Reballio first gives the precise dates for the opening and for Marinetti's first lecture. Those are exactly the same dates referred to by the latter in his undated letter. The reason for placing it before 7 May is that that was the date of Reballio's first letter since 20 April, in which he replied to "vos

lettres." Moreover, it is only in that letter that he mentions the press, which is Marinetti's main concern here. It is assumed that Marinetti wrote his undated letter before that of 27 April, since there was more time (bearing in mind the period when it was in the mail) between his previous, dated letter of 14 April and 27 April than there was between 27 April and Reballio's evident reply of 3 May.

40 The arrangements were limited to a press preview, as we shall see, and to a press release sent to the Centraal Persbureau announcing that the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring would be holding a Futurist exhibition from i8 May, and that Marinetti would be coming to give a lecture on Futurism in the first week, when he would discuss the works on show. See the copy of Reballio's letter on behalf of the Kunstkring to the Centraal Persbureau, 4 May I9I3.




If you stick to your decision (two negatives at your expense), please make the other four, charging me for this small additional expense.

Please write to me on this matter as soon as possible, and to confirm the date of the opening of the exhibition on I7 May. I believe that it will suffice for me to arrive on I 6 May, for the final installation of the paintings.

Thanking you in advance, your friend sends a warm handshake.

F. T. Marinetti

Marinetti wanted thus to install the exhibition himself. On 20 April, in answer to his two previous letters, Re- ballio made a few more small changes in the schedule. If, as planned, Marinetti comes to hang the paintings-and could he please make his arrival date known-then a preview could be arranged for the press, before the opening on the i 8th. The lectures could take place on 20 and 27 May. Finally, the secretary broached the subject of insurance, asking for a price list. Boccioni's sculptures were uninsurable, having been made of a plaster that was too fragile.4I No further mention is made of the photographs for the catalogue.

Evidently this gave Marinetti all the more reason to assure himself that there were no misunderstandings concerning the photographs when on 5 May he replied, enclosing the requested (though now lost) price list.

5 May I9I3

My dear colleague,

We have agreed on the following dates: 17 May, press opening. i8 " , public " 20 , first lecture. 27 " , second

Enclosed please find the prices of the paintings. As for the sculptures, if it is not possible to insure them, do not insure them.

You have forgotten to write to me regarding the catalogue, which must contain (please do not forget) the six photographs of the six paintings by the six Futurist painters.

I believe that we are in mutual agreement on this matter.

I will inform you by telegram of the exact hour of my arrival.

I look forward to making your personal acquaintance, and send you my very best wishes.

F. T. Marinetti

P.S. I had finished this letter when I received this telegram. I await your reply.

Good wishes

F. T. M.

Marinetti was probably mistaken in his postscript, as he should have received a letter and not a telegram from Reballio. The artworks had in the meantime arrived in Rotterdam, where the Kunstkring was presented with an unanticipated increase in the shipping costs which they were not prepared to cover. Secretary Reballio asked for a reply by telegram as to what should be done about the extra charges.42 Marinetti offered a possible solution, by telegram, on 7 May.

According to our contract you have agreed to pay the express shipping costs from Milan to Rotterdam and from Rotterdam to Milan. The pictures were sent from Rome. Please submit the full amount and bill me for transport from Rome to Milan. Greetings.

Marinetti

41 Copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti of 3 May 19I3. He says that he had read that the sculptures were made of plaster in a railway waybill. It seems, then, that they had arrived in Rotterdam but had not yet been uncrated.

42 Copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti of 4 May I9I3. See also the Kunstkring committee minutes for 9 May 19I3.



I7 letters from F. T. Marinetti, I9I2-I3 I53

Evidently Reballio had not recognized the error in Ma- rinetti's letter as such, and, as a result, he presently sent a telegram asking for an explanation as to where the telegram that Marinetti had referred to in his postscript was. And in a letter of i o May the secretary assumed yet again that Marinetti had forgotten to include "this telegram" in his last letter. With reference to Marinetti's telegram of 7 May, Reballio wrote that the stated difference in transport route was not sufficient explanation for the difference in shipping costs, but that he had paid the bill in full and would settle accounts when Marinetti was in Rotterdam where, evidently, Marinetti would have to stay an extra day, as the second lecture had been rescheduled to 28 May.43

The extent to which the two organizers' correspondence crossed in the mail is evident from Marinetti's next letter.

ii May I9I3

My dear colleague,

I have just received a telegram from you, that reads as follows: "I did not find "depecie" [sic] in your letter. Rebal- lio" There has evidently been an error in transmission; I understand nothing.

In answer to your letter of 4 May, I have wired you the following: "According to our contract you have agreed to pay the express shipping costs from Milan to Rotterdam and from Rotterdam to Milan. The pictures were sent from Rome. Please submit the full amount and bill me for transport from Rome to Milan. Greetings.

Marinetti"

I am confirming this telegram. I hope that we are in agreement about everything.

I look forward to making your personal acquaintance; very sincerely yours.

F. T. Marinetti

Marinetti's last telegram, of I4 May, heralded the end of this confusion; in it he announced that he would arrive a day earlier than planned.

Arrive Rotterdam tomorrow Thursday 4:oo Greet- ings.

Marinetti

Reballio would have the chance to speak to him person- ally throughout the following weeks.

THE EXHIBITION The show was open to the public from i 8 May to I 5 June. In accordance with Marinetti's directions, the catalogue was printed complete with the tailored version of "Les exposants au public" and the six reproductions of the six highlights of the show; a price list concluded the pamphlet.44 The interested viewer could also consult the bilingual circular La peinturefutu- riste en Belgique/La pittura futurista nel Belgio (also available from the Kunstkring), which Marinetti had adapted from the article by Nyst to which he refers in the revised opening of the catalogue introduction. In this article the Belgian describes his participation in Fu- turism since hearing Marinetti's lecture at the I912 exhibition in Brussels and witnessing the debate with the members of the Cercle des Independants.45

As agreed, the Rotterdam exhibition was also graced with a lecture, on 20 May. Contrary to what he had

43 Copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti of Io May 1913. See also the Kunstkring committee minutes for 9 May 19I3. In accordance with the rescheduling of the second lecture, an unidentified hand inserted the figure 28 beside the date of 27 May in Marinetti's letter of 5 May.

44 The introduction was reproduced by N.H. Wolf, "Futuristen, R'damsche Kunstkring," in De Kunst, 3I May 1913, pp.545-50. Loosjes-Terpstra, op. cit. (note Io), does so in an appendix, pp.33I- 37. Changes to this introduction relative to the original version are given in Drudi Gambillo and Fiori, op. cit. (note Io), vol. I, pp. II 7-

i8. According to idem, pp. 120-21, the new opening, with minor mo- difications and translated into Italian, was also used as the introduction to exhib. cat. Esposizione dipitturafuturista di "Lacerba", Floren- ce (Galleria Gonelli) 19I3-14. The six photographs of paintings in the Rotterdam catalogue are of Elasticite by Boccioni, Forces centrifuges by Carra, Resumi plastique des mouvements d'une femme by Russolo, Une laisse en mouvement by Balla, Hiroglyphe dynamique du Bal Tabarin by Severini, and Soffici's Synthese picturale de la ville de Prato.

45 The piece was discussed in "Rotterdamsche Kunstkring, Het Futurisme, II," Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 22 May I9I3.




written on 14 May, the primary subject of Marinetti's first appearance was the figurative arts. Following a brief sketch of the rise of Futurism in Italy, he undertook to elucidate the paintings of the Futurists, making reference to those in the exhibition. He also touched on the riot at the Costanzi theater. The reporter from the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant transcribed Marinetti's account of the event directly. "What has appeared in the press by way of German reporters about these evenings is untrue. Pratella did persevere as conductor of the orchestra in having his music performed. Following this, Marinetti recited verses. The entire evening it rained projectiles. After his reading, Marinetti addres- sed the aggressors combatively. The opposition was directed from some of the boxes, where sacks with lumps of coal and potatoes were found later. Italian princes were seated there. Among them were family relations of the Vatican. They were defending Tradition!"

Marinetti concluded the evening by reciting various Futurist writings, among them a description of the bombing of Adrianople.46

After a lecture sandwiched in for students from Delft, Marinetti appeared a second time to the Kunstkring- not, as scheduled, on 28 May but on the 23rd.47 Once more he provided a general theoretical introduction to Futurism, with particular attention to the dynamics and heightened human sensibility of modern times. Re- marks on Futurist literature followed, and specifically their attempts to reflect the speed of modern times in words freed of syntax. In conclusion, he recited several examples of Futurist poetry.48

EPILOGUE Following the second lecture, Marinetti left Rotterdam; on 4 June he was back in Milan. From there he orchestrated the preparations for his next enter- prise, the "Exhibition of Futurist sculpture," featuring

the work of Boccioni, to be held at the Galerie La Boetie in Paris from 20 June to i 6 July. Among the works to be shown was one then on display in Rotterdam.49

4 June 1913

My dear friend,

I am enclosing two labels that can be used for the box containing the sculpture that must be sent to Paris as soon as possible, that is before 20 June, when the sculpture exhibition opens.

Please inspect the packing carefully. I thank you in advance, and send a warm handshake.

F. T. Marinetti

The labels referred to are, naturally, no longer extant. Fortunately, the brief manuscript Marinetti sent two

days later has survived. He seems to have jumped at the opportunity to urge once again that special care be taken with the plaster sculpture.

6 June [1913]

Dear Mr Reballio,

I herewith enclose my manuscript. Please inspect the packing of the sculpture and ship it as soon as possible, so that it will arrive in Paris before the 20th.

I am counting on you. With a warm handshake.

F. T. Marinetti

Evidently, the letter sent to him on behalf of the Kunst- kring inviting him to contribute to a volume celebrating

46 "Rotterdamsche Kunstkring, Het Futurisme, I," Nieuwe Rot- terdamsche Courant, 2I May I913: "Wat er over dezen avond via Duitsche berichtgevers in de pers heeft gestaan, is niet juist geweest. Pratella heeft wel degelijk stand gehouden als orkestdirecteur en zijn muziek doen uitvoeren. Daarna heeft Marinetti verzen voorgedragen. Het had heel den avond al projectielen geregend. Doch na die voor- dracht wendde Marinetti zich met woorden van strijd tegen de wer- pers. De tegenstand werd aangevoerd uit enkele loges, in welke men later zakken met steenkool en aardappelen heeft gevonden. Daar zaten Italiaansche prinsen. Er waren er onder, die in familiebetrekking tot het Vatikaan staan. Zij kwamen op voor de Traditie!"

47 See the announcement, inv. nr. 235: "In plaats van Woensdag 28

Mei zal de lezing door den Heer Marinetti op Vrydag 23 Mei gehouden worden" ("Instead of Wednesday 28 May, Mr Marinetti's lecture will now be held on Friday 23 May").

48 "Rotterdamsche Kunstkring, Het Futurisme, III (slot)," Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 24 May 19I3. I will be dealing with Marinetti's visit to the Rotterdamsche Kunstkring and the Futurist events held there in my dissertation on multidisciplinary art societies between i88o and I914.

49 I have been unable to make out which of the sculptures listed in the Kunstkring catalogue this was: either Compt'nitration de tete, fenetre et lumiere or Dt'veloppement d'une bouteille dans 1'espace.



I7 letters from F. T. Marinetti, I9I2-I3 155

~~ZZ~~~A!4L~vF e tZ

Gu Ag4

Go 8o L 8

1~~~~~ 5 ' at IL X -Ant L4

<I L

4 First manuscript page of the opening of "Les exposants au public," as adapted by Marinetti for the Rotterdam Kunstkring exhibition

the upcoming 20th anniversary of the society had crossed with his own. In it', drawings and writings by well- known artists who had previously been involved with the Kunstkring would be published. Marinetti submitted the following fragment, from a "Futurist oeuvre" titled "Bataille, Poids + odeur" (fig. 5):

Battle

Avant-gardes: ioo meters of ant-battalions spider- cavalry forded-routes island-general grasshopper- dispatch riders revolution-sands tribune-shells frying

)444

74 4AA0 OaAA

* / -? e~

; e

A

5 Manuscript of Marinetti's contribution to the commemorative album Of 1913 celebrating the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Rotterdam Kunstkring

pan-clouds martyr-shotguns halo-shrapnel multipli- cation addition division shell-substraction grenade- erasure rustle rush collapsing rubble avalanche

F. T. Marinetti Futurist5-I0

But the poet seems to have had more pressing topics on his mind. There were only a few days between the Rot- terdam and the Paris exhibitions, and he did not let up in his requests that his colleague in Paris should receive Boccioni's sculpture in time for the exhibition.

50 Marinetti included this "oeuvre futuriste" in his Supplement au Manifeste technique de la litteiraturefuturiste, which is dated i I August I912, where "ioo metres" was replaced with "20 metres"; see Lista,

Marinetti et le Futurisme, cit. (note I o), p. 88. Marinetti's contribution appeared in Rotterdamsche Kunstkring. Gedenkboek MDCCCXCIII- MCMXIII, Rotterdam 19I3, p. 57.



TON VAN KALMTHOUT

13 June [I 913]

Dear Mr Reballio,

I want to remind you once more that it is absolutely essential that the sculpture that was in your exhibition in Rotterdam be sent to the address that I have already forwarded to you: M. Paul Peuron Galerie La Boetie 64 bis, Rue La Boetie-Paris such that it arrives in Paris before I8 June. Please proceed without delay in packing it as carefully as possible and shipping it express.

Thank you in advance; my warmest greetings.

F. T. Marinetti

The same day the Rotterdam secretary received a second letter from Milan, requesting that a number of exhibition catalogues be sent to Paris. Evidently Marinetti wished to distribute them at Boccioni's exhibition, sup- plying the necessary explanations himself. He wrote on the eve of his departure:

I3 June [1I9I3]

My dear Mr Reballio,

Please send to me in Paris, at the Grand-Hotel, where I will be tomorrow, 20 catalogues of our exhibition in Rotterdam. Thank you in advance; my warmest greetings.

F. T. Marinetti

He was within his rights to ask for the catalogues as, while in Rotterdam, he had agreed to purchase the un-

sold copies. 5' The 20 he ordered were shipped prompt- ly, as Reballio wrote to Paris, responding simultaneous- ly to Marinetti's four most recent letters. The remaining catalogues, he added, had been sent to Italy with the paintings. 5 2

It had been agreed that Marinetti would pay ioo French francs for the remaining catalogues and the negatives,53 but after two months the Kunstkring had received no more than the umpteenth manifesto.54 The leader of the Futurists had become involved in com- pletely new manifestations. In late September and early October he was in Messina to attend the performance of his play Elettricita' on the 23rd; on I2 and I 5 October he gave a lecture in Berlin. He also took part in the Italian elections on the Isth with a "Futurist political program" (co-signed by Boccioni, Carrai, and Russolo). All in all he had ample grounds for excusing himself when in the final letter he responded to Reballio's apparent en- treaty for payment for the catalogues.

Thursday 23 October [1913

My dear friend,

Please excuse me. I have not had a moment's rest. Two conferences in Berlin, a play performed in Sici- ly, the political elections: this should explain the unintentional delay.

I am having the ioo francs sent to you today. My warmest thanks and an affectionate handshake.

Your friend,

F. T. Marinetti

With this payment Marinetti bade farewell to the Rot- terdamsche Kunstkring and his friend Reballio.55

THE HAGUE

5I The catalogue was printed in an edition of i,ooo copies, of which 284 were sold (Kunstkring committee minutes, 7 June 19I3). Mari- netti agreed to buy up the remainder after the breakdown of negotiations with H.E. d'Audretsch, owner of the Arti gallery in Schevenin- gen, who had wanted to take over the entire exhibition. See the copies of Reballio's letters on behalf of the Kunstkring to d'Audretsch, 4 and 9 May 19I3, and the Kunstkring committee minutes of 9 and 24 May.

52 Copy of Reballio's letter to Marinetti of i6 June i9i3. 53 Kunstkring committee minutes of 24 May 19I3, and a loose

sheet with penciled notes attached to the minutes of 7 June I913. 54 Kunstkring committee minutes, 22 August I913. This manifes-

to might have been Guillaume Apollinaire's L'Antitraditionfuturiste, which is dated 29 June I913 and appeared on I August, or Felix Delmarles's Manifestefuturiste a Montmartre of Io July 1913.

55 See the Kunstkring committee minutes of 24 October I9 I 3, and also the notes on the back of a tender from the De Jong printing works to Reballio of I 9 April I 913.



17 letters from F.T. Marinetti, 1912-13 157

Appendix

7 Juin I912

Cher Monsieur.

J'arrive en ce moment de Bruxelles. Je vous remercie de votre proposition tres aimable. La saison etant tres avan- cee il faut tout remettre a l'automne ou 'a l'hiver prochain.

D'une facon generale je tiens 'a vous faire savoir que nous ne faisons guere d'expositions sans cette condition sine qua non: - Tous les frais de transport 'a grande vitesse des tableaux, de la ville ou ils se trouvent 'a la ville oui a lieu l'exposition, et leur retour toujours 'a grande vitesse, sont a la charge de l'organisation de l'exposition.

Veuillez tout aimablement me repondre si vous entrez dans cet ordre d'idees.

Agreez avec mes mes [sic] remerciements anticipes, mes salutations distinguees.

F. T. Marinetti

P.S. Les 34 tableaux exposes 'a Paris, Londres, Berlin et Bruxelles ont tous ete vendus successivement pour une somme totale de 40000 francs.

le 3 Juillet [I9I2]

M. le Secretaire de la Rotterdamsche Kunstkring Rotterdam

Excusez-moi d'avoir tant tarde 'a repondre 'a votre derniere lettre ainsi qu'a' votre derniere depeche.- Notre exposition 'a Rome, qui doit avoir lieu durant l'automne prochain, n'ayant pas encore ete fixee, il nous est impossible de rien decider au sujet de votre exposition.

Comme vous voyez, de toute facon nous ne pourrions guere exposer chez vous en septembre ni en octobre.

Quant aux conditions, nous sommes d'accord, sauf au sujet des tableaux que votre president a vus 'a Paris, et qui sont tous vendus, et que nous n'esperons guere pou- voir exposer encore.

I1 est d'ailleurs bien plus interessant pour vous de

reunir les oeuvres non encore vues a Paris. Veuillez m'ecrire a tous ces differents sujets, et

agreez, je vous prie, mes salutations tres chaleureuses.

F. T. Marinetti

le 8 Aout I9I2

Cher Monsieur,

Je n'ai absolument pas organise d'expositions futuristes en Hollande, ni 'a La Haye, ni 'a Rotterdam, etant donne qu'il nous est absolument impossible de rien fixer pour le moment.

I1 s'agit evidemment des 24 tableaux futuristes que nous avons vendus a un collectionneur de Berlin. C'est certainement ce collectionneur qui a dui organiser l'Exposition dont parlent les journaux.

Cette exposition ne nous empechera pas d'en organiser une autre cet hiver, toujours en Hollande, avec les nouveaux tableaux futuristes et surtout avec les oeuvres des sculpteurs futuristes qui n'ont encore expose nulle part.

Cette exposition, plus vaste que les pr&cedentes, au point de vue de la peinture, aura pour le public un nou- vel attrait: celui de la sculpture futuriste. J'ai l'intention en outre de collaborer au succes intellectuel de cette exposition par une ou deux conferences qui seront faites par moi et par mes amis.

Veuillez, je vous prie m'ecrire ce que vous pensez de tout cela et quels sont les mois que vous pourriez mettre a notre disposition apre's le mois d'octobre.

Veuillez agre'er avec tous mes remerciements anticipes, mes sentiments tres chaleureuses.

F. T. Marinetti

le 27 Dec. 1912

Mon cher confrere

D'innombrables contretemps que je crois inutile de vous enumerer ici, me poussent a vous demander une




tres grande faveur.- I1 s'agit de retarder l'Exposition de Peinture et de Sculpture futuristes a Rotterdam d'envi- ron un mois.

Nous serions tres reconnaissants a la Rotterdamsche Kunstkring de vouloir bien fixer l'ouverture de notre exposition du io au I5 Mai.

Je pourrais, de la sorte,-vous garantir non seulement ma conference sur le Mouvement futuriste en general, mais aussi celle (bien plus interessante pour les peintres et sculpteurs hollandais) de mon ami le peintre et sculp- teur futuriste Boccioni.

Veuillez m'ecrire, je vous prie, le plus vite possible, au sujet de ce grand service que je vous demande et veuillez agreer, avec l'expression de ma gratitude anticipee mes meilleurs souhaits et mes salutations chaleureuses.

F. T. Marinetti

P.S. Il est bien entendu que rien n'est change quant aux autres conditions fixees.

F. T.M.

7 Janvier 1913

Cher Monsieur,

J'ai recu votre lettre du 4 janvier, dans laquelle vous m 'annoncez que la Rotterdamsche Kunstkring a bien voulu renvoyer l'ouverture de notre exposition futuriste au io Mai. Je vous prie de remercier tres chaleureuse- ment la Direction, de ma part.

Nous sommes maintenant completement d'accord sur tous les points.

Veuillez agreer, cher Monsieur, l'expression de ma gratitude et de ma sympathie intellectuelle.

F. T. Marinetti

le 31 Mars 19I3

Mon cher confrere,

Nous n'avons pas parle jusqu'ici du Catalogue. I1 va sans dire que notre exposition ne pourra se passer d'un catalogue bien fait, en hollandais, et accompagne', si vous le jugez a propos, de photographies. Veuillez m'ecrire un mot a ce dernier sujet.

Je vous prie de vouloir bien controler vous-meme l'exactitude de la traduction et la disposition des matieres, que j'ai indique avec soin dans le manuscrit ci-joint.

Quant a la brochure je vous prie de vouloir bien imiter autant que possible celle de Bernheim, qui me semble elegante et parfaite.

Le titre de la brochure doit etre: Les peintres et sculpteursfuturistes italiens, et au dessous ce que vous jugez 'a propos comme indications concernant la Rotterdamsche Kunst[k]ring.

Veuillez m'ecrire le plus vite possible, surtout au sujet des photographies.

Je ne sais si vous lisez suffisamment l'italien. Je vous envoie en tout cas une circulaire qui vous renseignera sur les violentes batailles victorieuses que nous venons de livrer a Rome contre les passeistes, et vous permettra de retablir la verite systematiquement deformee par les grands quotidiens europeens.

Je tiens beaucoup a ce que dans les milieux out s'exer- ce votre autorite' on sache bien que nous ne sommes ni balafres, ni meme egratignes, et que, tout au contraire, nos ennemis les passeistes, roues des coups, d'insultes et d'idees energiques reculent devant notre force grandis- sante. Ils ont fait davantage, apres notre bataille du Cos- tanzi; ils nous ont offert un grand banquet!!!

En attendant le plaisir de vous connaitre personnellement et de causer avec vous batailles et idees futuristes, je vous prie d'agreer mes remerciements anticipes et mes salutations tres chaleureuses.

F. T. Marinetti



I7 letters from F.T. Marinetti, I912-I3 I59

le ii Avril [I9I3]

Mon cher confrere,

J'arrive en ce moment. Je suis enchante d'apprendre que vous ferez paraitre le catalogue enfranfais. Vous avez du recevoir les six photographies. Je vous prie d'en faire tirer vous-meme les c1ichnes.

Toutes les oeuvres partiront de Rome le 15 courant. On m'a assure que par grande vitesse ils doivent vous parvenir sufrement vers le 3 ou le 4 Mai.

Je vous prie encore une fois de vouloir bien vous tenir strictement a mes indications, quant a la disposition des matieres du catalogue.

Veuillez agreer avec mes remerciements anticipes, mes salutations chaleureuses.

F. T. Marinetti

P.S. Veuillez m'ecrire un mot, des que vous aurez recu les photographies. Veuillez, je vous prie, faire en sorte que les cliches soient le[s] plus grands possible[s] pro- portionnellement au format du catalogue que je souhaite identique a celui de Bernheim.

F. T.M.

I4 Avril I9I3

Mon cher confrere,

En attendant le plaisir de vous lire, je vous prie de vouloir bien fixer ma premiere conference sur le Futurisme (au point de vue litteraire surtout) pour l'un des premiers jours de l'Exposition.

J'aimerai beaucoup faire cette conference le i i Mai. En tout cas veuillez choisir la date la plus favorable. On pourrait faire la seconde conference (sur la peinture) une semaine apres.

Veuillez m'ecrire le plus tot possible a ce sujet, et agreez avec mes remerciements anticipes, l'expression de mon amitie.

F. T. Marinetti

[between 20 April and 3 May I9I3]

Mon cher confrere,

Je recois de nombreuses lettres de Hollande, qui me demandent la date de l'ouverture de l'Exposition et de ma premiere conference.

Je vous prie aussi de vouloir bien faire parvenir le plus vite possible a toute la presse hollandaise une circulaire qui renseigne le public sur l'importance de cette Expos- ition futuriste de toute une serie de nouveaux tableaux qui n'ont ete exposes, jusqu'ici, qu'a Rome.

N'oubliez pas d'ajouter que ceux qui ont parle jusqu'ici du futurisme en general ou du futurisme pictural n'etaient pas suffisamment renseignes, ou plus simple- ment n'avaient pas la mentalite necessaire. D'oui l'importance de ma premiere conference. Je tiens a ce que vous lanciez cette circulaire le plus vite possible et je vous exprime d'avance tous mes remerciements.

Agreez, mon cher confrere, l'expression de ma tres vive sympathie.

F. T. Marinetti

27 Avril [I913]

Mon cher confrere,

J'arrive en ce moment de Rome. Veuillez donc excuser le retard de cette reponse a votre lettre tres aimable.

Je me hate de vous ecrire que je tiens absolument a ce que le catalogue contienne les six photographies que je vous ai adressees. Elles ont ete choisies precisement pour donner une idee assez exacte des 6 temperaments des 6 peintres qui dirigent le mouvement pictural futuriste. I1 faut donc que le catalogue contienne les 6 photographies.

Je ne sais pas si vous vendrez ce catalogue. A Londres, 'a Berlin, a Paris et a Bruxelles, la vente des catalogues a atteint le chiffre de I0.000 'a 22.000, au prix de 20 ou de 40 centimes. Je vous conseille en tout cas de faire un premier tirage assez important et de faire garder la com- position pour des tirages successifs.

Si vous persistez dans votre decision (des 2 cliches a votre compte) veuillez faire faire les quatre autres, en



i6o TON VAN KALMTHOUT

mettant a mon compte ce petit supplement de frais. Veuillez m'ecrire un mot a ce sujet, le plus tot possible

et me confirmer la date de l'ouverture de l'exposition pour le I7 Mai. Je crois qu'il suffira que je sois la le i6 Mai, pour la mise en place definitive des tableaux.

Tous mes remerciements anticipes et une chaleureuse poignee de main de votre ami

F. T. Marinetti

le 5 Mai I9I3

Mon cher confrere,

Nous sommes d'accord sur les dates suivantes: 17 Mai, ouverture pour la Presse. I8 " N " pour le public. 20 ", Premiere conference. 27 ", Seconde "

Ci-joint, les prix des tableaux. Quant aux sculptures, s'il est impossibles de les faire assurer, ne les assurez pas.

Vous avez oubliez de m'ecrire au sujet du catalogue, qui doit contenir (ne l'oubliez pas, je vous prie) les 6 photographies de 6 tableaux des 6 peintres futuristes.

Je crois que nous sommes egalement d'accord sur ce point.

Je vous avertirai par une depeche de l'heure exacte de mon arrivee.

En attendant le plaisir de vous connaitre personnellement, je vous prie d'agreer l'expression de ma tres vive sympathie.

F. T. Marinetti

P.S. J'avais acheve cette lettre quand j'ai recu cette depeche. J'attends votre reponse.

Bien 'a vous

F. T.M.

Telegram of 7 May

Selon notre contrat vous vous etes engage a payer les frais de transport grande vitesse de Milan 'a Rotterdam et de Rotterdam a Milan. Les tableaux viennent de Rome. Veuillez donc payer le prix complet du transport en mettant a ma charge le transport de Rome 'a Milan. Salutations.

Marinetti

le ii Mai I913

Mon cher confrere,

Je recois en ce moment une depeche de vous, ainsi concue: 'je n'ai pas trouve depecie [sic] dans votre lettre. Rebal- Ho' Evidemment il y a un erreur de transmission. Je ne com- prends rien.

En reponse a votre lettre du 4 mai, je vous ai adresse la depeche suivante: 'Selon notre contrat vous vous etes engage a payer les frais de transport grande vitesse de Milan a Rotterdam et de Rotterdam 'a Milan. Les tableaux viennent de Rome. Veuillez donc payer le prix complet du transport en mettant a ma charge le transport de Rome a Milan. Salutations. Marinetti'

Je vous confirme cette depeche. J'espere que nous sommes d'accord sur tout.

En attendant de vous connaitre personnellement, je vous prie d'agreer mes salutations tres distinguees.

F. T. Marinetti



17 letters from F. T. Marinetti, 19I2-13

le 4 Juin I913

Mon cher ami,

Je vous envoie ci-joint deux ecriteaux qui serviront pour la caisse contenant la sculpture qui doit etre envoyee a Paris le plus tot possible, c'est-a-dire avant le 20 Juin, date de l'ouverture de l'Exposition de Sculpture.

Je vous prie de surveiller soigneusement l'emballage.- Agreez avec mes remerciements anticipes une affec- tueuze poignee de main de votre ami.

F. T. Marinetti

le 6 Juin [I9I3]

Cher Monsieur Reballio,

Je vous envoie ci-joint mon autographe. Je vous prie de vouloir bien surveiller l'emballage de la sculpture et de l'expedier le plus vite possible, de facon qu'elle arrive a Paris avant le 20.

Je compte beaucoup sur vous.- Je vous prie d'agreer une chaleureuse poignee de main.

F. T. Marinetti

13 Juin [1913]

Cher M. Reballio,

Je tiens a vous rappeler encore qu'il faut absolument que la sculpture qui est exposee a Rotterdam chez vous soit expediee a l'adresse que je vous ai deja envoyee:

M. Paul Peuron Galerie La Boetie 64 bis, Rue La Boetie - Paris de facon qu'elle soit a Paris avant le i8 Juin.- Je vous prie donc de proceder sans retard 'a l'emballage le plus soigne et de l'expedier a grande vitesse.

Tous mes remerciements anticipes. Une chaleureuse poignee de main de votre ami

F. T. Marinetti

13 Juin [I913]

Mon cher M. Reballio,

Je vous prie de vouloir bien m'adresser 'a Paris, au Grand-Hotel, oul je serai demain, 20 catalogues de notre exposition de Rotterdam. Tous mes remerciements anticipes; mes salutations tres chaleureuses.

F. T. Marinetti

Jeudi 23 Octobre [I9I3]

Mon cher ami,

Veuillez m'excuser. Je n'ai pas eu un instant de repos. Deux conferences a Berlin, une piece jouee en Sicile, les elections politiques: Voila qui vous expliquera le retard involontaire.

Je vous fais expedier aujourd'hui meme les ioo frs.- Tous mes remerciements chaleureux et une affectueuse poignee de main.

Votre ami

F. T. Marinetti



"batailles et idées futuristes": 17 letters from f. t. marinetti, 1912-13

Documents